Can Hamsters Eat Raisins? Know Your Pets Better!
Your small furry friends like variety in their diets, starting from nuts, seeds, veggies, fruits, and so on. But what about sugary fruits and dried fruits? Do you want to share some delicious raisins with them?
But can hamsters eat raisins? Yes, hamsters absolutely can enjoy yummy raisins! Hamsters love these sweet treats and raisins have plenty of health benefits for the little ones. However, that doesn’t mean you’ll just give it to them anytime or all the time.
So, how much should you feed them and what health risks should you consider while offering raisins to your pets? Here, you’ll get answers to all your questions!
Are Raisins Good For Hamsters?
Yes. Hamsters can eat raisins. Just like humans, our furry friends are extremely fond of sugary fruits or dried fruits like raisins. But although our little friends might love munching on them, are dried fruits safe for hamsters? Are raisins safe for them? Well, absolutely!
Raisins are packed with the goodness of vitamins, protein, fibers, minerals, and whatnot, adding great value to the hamster diet. However, raisins also have a high sugar, carbs, and calorie content, which isn’t ideal for the gastrointestinal health of hamsters.
Hence, fresh and organic raisins can be given to your pets, but only in a moderate amount.
Can Hamster Breed Eat Raisins?
Although all breeds of hamsters will probably jump on the sugary raisin treats, unfortunately, it’s not safe for all breeds. Want to find out if your pet friend can enjoy some? Stick with us.
Chinese Dwarf
These hamsters are only 7-9 cm in size, weighing no more than 50 to 74 grams! Considering their size, they don’t have a very active digestive or calorie-burning system. Hence, it’s best not to share any raisins with these little friends, considering it may easily lead to diabetes or obesity.
Russian/Winter White Dwarf
Similar to Chinese dwarfs, Russian or Winter White hamsters are pretty small in size. They are also prone to being affected by obesity and diabetes with high sugar consumption. So, raisins are an absolute no for them as well!
Roborovski
Roborovskis are the smallest hamster breeds, with their growth restricted to only 1.5 inches. However, they are highly active in their everyday life, always on their toes, making it easy for them to burn more calories than dwarf hamsters.
With their energetic personalities, they also tend to be safe from diabetes or obesity. So, good news for owners of Roborovski hamsters; you can share the sweet dry fruits with them. However, the amount should not exceed more than 2-3 times a week in small amounts.
Syrian Hamster
This breed of hamsters can grow up to 6-8 inches, weighing around 100-140 grams, making them the largest hamster breed. The bigger the size, the more calories burn! Hence, like the Roborovskis, you can also feed raisins to your Syrian hamsters a couple of times every week.
Benefits of Raisins for Hamsters
Raisins are an absolute yummy treat for little pets and come with loads of nutritional goodness and benefits!
Nutritional Value
Before digging into the health benefits, you’d want to know the high nutritional value of these sweet treats. Keep scrolling!
Nutrients | Quantity |
Calories | 120 (for 40g) |
Protein | 1 g |
Fiber | 2 g |
Sugar | 26 g |
Vitamin A | 1% |
Vitamin C | 1% |
Sodium | 10 mg |
Calcium | 25 mg |
Potassium | 298 mg |
Iron | 0.7 mg |
Healthier Eyesight
Raisins are filled with polyphenolic nutrients good for eyesight, such as A-carotene, beta-carotene, Vitamin A, etc. As a result of these nutrients, your little hamsters will be protected from vision degenerating diseases and cataracts and get better vision even in dimmer light since they are nocturnal animals.
Improved Digestion
With an abundance of dietary fibers in raisins, your little friends will have smoother bowel movements and get rid of any symptoms of constipation, bodily toxins, and waste. Overall, offering raisins in moderation to your furry friends is great for their gastrointestinal health.
Abundance of Vitamin C
The little hamster bodies cannot store Vitamin C or produce this essential nutrient. Hence, feeding them a few raisins over the week fulfills the need for Vitamin C in their diets, which is necessary for their skin and bone health.
Immunity Boost
Raisins contain both Vitamins A and B-complex. While Vitamin B plays an excellent role in maintaining the overall nervous system, Vitamin A, on the other hand, boosts total immunity.
Blood Pressure Maintenance
There are minerals like iron and potassium in the delicious raisins. These nutrients play a huge role in maintaining the blood pressure of the little ones, relaxing blood vessels, improving blood flow, and keeping heart diseases at bay!
How To Serve Raisins To Your Hamster?
While raisins can act as additional supplements offering higher nutrition to your hamster’s diet, they should be fed following a few guidelines.
- When introducing raisins, be mindful to serve them only 1-2 raisins and check if the hamsters are facing any discomfort. If not, you can include raisins in a regular hamster diet.
- Don’t forget to wash the raisins well before you offer them to your pets.
- It’s better to slice a raisin into two and serve it to the pets to avoid choking.
- Be mindful that raisins are not part of the everyday diet but are only additional treats for furry friends.
How Many Raisins Can a Hamster Eat Per Day?
Since raisins have an abundance of sugar and acid in them, giving too much would upset the little tummies of hamsters or even result in diabetes. So, it’s better to keep the amounts low, about one teaspoon over the week.
Of course, remember not to serve the whole portions at a time. Divide them into smaller amounts and then feed them to the hamsters at intervals.
Risks Of Overfeeding Hamsters Raisins
Raisins undoubtedly are great little snacks for your hamsters. However, if the served amount is not controlled or balanced, it can pose a great risk to hamster health.
Overweight and Diabetes
With high sugar content, if your hamster consumes too many raisins, it can easily lead to type 2 diabetes. Besides, since hamsters would probably hop on to have these sugary treats if you don’t control the amounts, they’ll probably eat too much and gain weight.
Problems in Digestion
Raisins contain a fair amount of water and acid. So, while overconsuming these little treats at first may seem harmless for your little friends, they’ll soon end up causing diarrhea and other digestive problems in them.
Kidney Damage
There is oxalic acid in raisins. So, by overfeeding your hamsters with raisins, you’re increasing the oxalic acid amount in their bodies as well. This may lead to kidney damage, severe problems in the urinary tract, kidney stones, etc.
Dental Issues
Since raisins are pretty sweet, sticky, and contain lots of sugar, eating too much can cause tooth decay in hamsters. Besides, the sugar content also leads to fragile immunity in furry animals with overconsumption.
Alternatives to Raisins in a Hamster’s Diet
Hamsters are omnivorous. Here’s a list of some safe foods for hamsters that you can unhesitatingly include in their diets!
- Apples
- Strawberries
- Blackberries
- Figs
- Cherries
- Cucumber
- Spinach
- Melon
- Papaya
- Honeydews
- Carrots
- Lettuce, etc.
What Not to Feed Them?
While your hamster won’t stop chewing and feeding on any food types, remember to avoid the following items because eating them will lead to health issues in your pets.
- Onion
- Garlic
- Celery
- Kidney beans
- Sugary foods
- Junk food
- Citrus fruits
- Raw potatoes
- Rhubarb leaves etc.
Planning a Balanced Diet
To ensure your adorable little friends have a balanced diet, you can add the following items to their diet plan.
- Keep a good portion of fresh veggies in their diet, such as carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, cucumbers, artichokes, etc. All these items are short on fats and calories while fulfilling the vitamin-mineral needs of hamsters.
- Naturally, hamsters love seeds and nuts. Hence, adding different types of seeds and nuts like sesame, sunflower, pumpkin, soy seeds, walnuts, and pine nuts can enrich their nutrition consumption. Besides, including their favorite foods in the list will also keep them happy!
- You can add some fruits as supplements, like apples, pears, bananas, berries, melons, etc.
- Your hamster loves chewing and gnawing foodstuffs. So, you can offer them some good quality timothy hay to keep their teeth clean and fulfill their urges.
- At all times, your little friends should have access to fresh water!
Final Verdict
Raisins not only add taste and nutritional value to your pets’ diet but also bring a change in their boring everyday diets. So, your hamsters can eat raisins, but don’t forget to keep the amounts low because of the high fiber, sugar, calories and acid content in them.
Besides, you should keep checking your hamsters for any health issues or complications as they munch on the sweet treats. For an overall diet, don’t forget to add a good amount of veggies, nuts, seeds, and safe fruits for hamsters. Just be careful of the portion sizes and you’re good to go!